A Weekend in Barcelona

Barcelona was a whole different experience for me. A few days before my first trip to Barcelona my dad surprised me for my birthday. My dad has never been to Europe before and if a huge nerd when it comes to history just like yours truly. I always begged and begged my parents to come visit and finally out of the blue, literally, I bawled my eyes out I was so happy and shocked and surprised because I had noooo clue what so ever (theres a video but I’ll save myself the embarrassment). So besides it being my dad’s first time in Europe we got to experience a new city together!

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Getting to Barcelona from Madrid (my home base) is easy easy easy. You can take the train, fly or car. We chose the fast train because my dad was fascinated with the idea of a fast train. Purchase some snacks and hop aboard the AVE and two and a half hours later…Barcelona!

I’d like to think the one of the biggest differences between Madrid and Barcelona is the fact that Barcelona has the beach. Madrid has my heart so I can’t get into the full debate on why Madrid is better. But who doesn’t love the beach. When you decide to visit Barcelona I would take advantage of the beach front. Stay and eat on the beach as much as your can. Life is too short to not have sand between your toes.

It was my birth week so Pop’s splurged my hostel lifestyle and we got a swanky hotel (Ibis hotel) and stayed a short walk to the beach. Since we hotel it up rather than hostel we weren’t given the option of a free complimentary breakfast so we splurged again and had my 26th birthday breakfast on the beach.

Barcelona is a vibrant city, home to one of the most famous churches in the world built by the great Spanish architect Antoni Gaudí. Construction started in 1882 and is estimated to be completed by 2028. Yes, that is correct 146 years it is take to complete this masterpiece. Once you see it you’ll understand why. A major part of the extended timeline was due to the unfortunately death of Gaudí in 1926 and in 1985 Jordi Bonet i Armengol has taken on the role of fulfilling the abstract architectural language of Gaudí’s vision.

I would highly recommend doing a tour that includes one of the towers — you get the opportunity to see the entire city

if you are a student or under 30 you get a discount

get the audio guide, you’d be surprised how much you’ll learn

Obviously the pictures don’t do justice to the incredible design and mind work of Antoni Gaudí, so you must go check it out for yourself.

Parc Guell
Antoni Gaudí is the master of Barcelona. He visionary mind has contributed to the city skyline in so many ways. Not only is he the mastermind behind the Sagrada Familia but he also designed the famous park that the Cheetah Girls strutted through in their second film: Parc Guell. In order to get inside the speckled tile part of the park make sure you buys tickets in advance so you don’t get to miss the chance to strut your stuff like the Cheetah girls.

Inside the Parc Güell you will find the Gaudí House Museum, with a student ID you get a discounted price to tour the inside (which I don’t think you are suppose to take photos) but there is also an adorable garden outside — a perfect spot for a mini photoshoot!

Barcelona CathedralMost people think that when you combine Barcelona and Cathedral in the same sentence they are referring to the Sagrada Familia but shockingly, no. The Barcelona Cathedral is an actually cathedral older than the Sagrada Famailia dating back to the 13th century and is still quite an impressive site.

Parc de la Ciutadella:A green space equipped with a stunning waterfalls and neighbors with the Barcelona Zoo. Turn a day at the park into a picnic and people watch for hours.

Spain is famous for tapas, you can’t can’t cannot leave the country without having muchas muchas tapas.